Looking for some tips-Pleco has a big hole in his dorsal fin?

[chronic]

Is that the proper term?...

Here is a pic.
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I figured since it was so tiny, it couldn't be from fighting. I removed all the plastic plants that were kind of pokey...

And now the hole is longer, and there is a tiny pin prick hole above it!?!

What could be causing this?

I have high nitrate levels, and the water is hard according to these quick dip test strips.

So a lady at the pet store offered me this green-x phosphate/nitrate eliminator bag thing you put in the filter.
And also try using a bit of this nitraban stuff.

Could that have anything to do with it? I have been doing 25% water changes every couple days for the past two weeks. Haven't done one since the nitrate eliminator crap.

They do fight a bit, but I've never seen anything worse than this
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I'm a noob, I'm trying to learn but you know...

Thanks for anything.

[smaug]

Get better testing supplies such as a liquid test kit,strips are too inaccurate to make decisions with.For the hole in his fin ,get some melafix and dose with that for a week or so,it will help him heal naturally.How high do the strips show your nitates to be?

[angelcakes]

check the hole to make sure theres no signs of diesease if none leave alone hole will repair on its own:14:

[dean30bb]

i saw gold fish in there i think, are they in tropical water or cold water.....

[chronic]

According to the strips, the nitrates are as high and unsafe as they can be.

However I may agree on them being very inaccurate since I've been doing 25% water changes every couple days for weeks. And it hasn't budged.

They're in fresh water, cold water... I try and keep the temps in the 80+ area for the plecos.

[Lady Hobbs]

Depending on the size of your tank, 25% water changes might not be enough to bring those nitrates down. Do a large water change and see how that goes.

[chronic]

Its a 55gallon...So maybe, more like 50%??

Oh, and I wanted to ask. The plecos were acting unusually ...pissed off I guess last night, so after I made this thread. I removed that green-x filter thing. I couldn't find any reviews on it... do you guys know anything about it?
Could it be irritating my fish...or, well could have since its gone now.

[smaug]

i have no experiance with the green x.The black moors I do have experiance with,a tank in the 80s is quite high for them and the plecos can stand cooler water then that as well.If you can adjust the temp down to 75deg they both would be happier.Go out sometime and get an API master test kit,the price is higher then strips but will give you a much better idea of your water troubles.As for high nitrates,are you doing gravel vacs 3-4 times a year,if not your trates will always be creeping up.

[abaigael04]

also - how many goldfish do you have? and how big are your plecos? You could just have a high bio-load which would require more water changes than a lesser stocked tank. I say this only because goldfish and plecos are both dirty! I think if you have good water quality and can lower your nitrates I would watch his fin and see if they don't just heal themselves.

[chronic]

I haven't done the gravel vacuum thing yet, I dont even have one. This tank has only been in my possesion for about a month and a bit.

So, when it was emptied and brought over, all the water and gravel was removed.
I have a bunch of corkscrew val plants and a few others I can't remember the names of off hand.

The plecos are about 8-7inchs and 5ish years old. I have two mollies and this tiny little goldfish. Not sure what kind. They get their goldfish food and I feed the plecos algae pucks at night and they eat well, all of them.

I used the same water that my dad had for a while, and I know he never did anything like gravel vacuuming or water changes. So after I noticed these problems I started buying the suppliments and doing changes.



On hot hot days what I've done is put ice packs in my tank to try and bring the temps down. But, that takes a while and I live in a hot apartment. Are there more permanent devices or ways to keep the tank cooler?

Thanks so much guys! Big help so far, like I said. I'm a noob, trying to learn as much as I can.

[smaug]

There are chillers but they are expensive [start around 350.00].Did your tank cycle before you added fish?Get a gravel vac as soon as you can and start using it,if you are planted heavily then just be careful when you do the vac.After awhile when your plants are well established and you plant more of them you can cut your vacuming back to twice a year or less,until then every other month or so will suffice.

[chronic]

I bought one of those vac's today. Damn that works great! Need a bigger bucket though, that fills up quick!

After I used it for a while, It started to move some of my newer plants so I just pulled them and put them in a bucket of tank water while I did the one side of my tank. Replanted them, kind of established another hiding spot for the plecos and did a 40ish% water change.

I bought an api fresh water master test kit today, so hopefully it gives me some better results compared to the strips.

Kind of wondering how I will keep the water temps lower all the time, but I'm crafty, I'll think of something, fall will be here soon anyway so I wont have to worry as much.



As for cycling, no... Honestly I didn't even know the term before the last bit here.

Thanks again!

[smaug]

I bought one of those vac's today. Damn that works great! Need a bigger bucket though, that fills up quick!

After I used it for a while, It started to move some of my newer plants so I just pulled them and put them in a bucket of tank water while I did the one side of my tank. Replanted them, kind of established another hiding spot for the plecos and did a 40ish% water change.

I bought an api fresh water master test kit today, so hopefully it gives me some better results compared to the strips.

Kind of wondering how I will keep the water temps lower all the time, but I'm crafty, I'll think of something, fall will be here soon anyway so I wont have to worry as much.



As for cycling, no... Honestly I didn't even know the term before the last bit here.

Thanks again!
get that water tested soon.If you havnt cycled you could be in for MANY surprises.

[chronic]

Well here is what it reads

ph 7.6
nitrite .25
nitrate (although much better than the strips, still not good) 80+
ammonia 0

I noticed the little pleco has a piece missing from his dorsal fin now too, and the big guys hole is bigger....not good!

I bought some melafix. Should I try some just incase it is an infection.

The oldest mollies dorsal fin looks tattered too!?

Edit-Holy hell! The big plecos back fin is tattered to rat snot!!! It wasn't like that yesterday!

[smaug]

Yup you got a problem.The nitrite level should be zero.From the numbres you give it sounds as if you are just about done cycling.You need to keep those water changes up and possobly do another good gravel vac.Those nitrites are very dangerous especially in conjunction with high nitrates.Keep a special eye on your tests to make sure you get no ammonia at all.
My suggestions are:
do another good gravel vac ,40% water changes daily until your nitrites are zero ,after that25% WCs until your nitrates are less then 40.I am very uncertain whether melafix will do much good with your trates and trites being so high.Is there somewhere you could house the plecs till you get this cleared up?What kind of filter are you running,and what media are you using at the moment?

[chronic]

Ok, i'm doing another cleaning now.

Edit-...

I read my nitrates again this morning, and they're closer to 40 actually, I must have been in bad lighting last night.

Should I use any conditioning salt or anything durring this too? Stress coat...

As for the filter, Not sure. Its this foam thing my dad bought years ago and said he liked. And besides the filter, there is an activated charcol bag in there which I removed on behalf of the melafix.

[smaug]

Just a heads up about those nitrate tests.Follow the directions very closely with one exception,shake those bottles very well.I think its the number 2 bottle which needs the devil shook out of it to get good results.I am concerned about your filter size and type,can you post a pic of what you have?

[chronic]

This is what is in there now. I can't remember the size of the pump...

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Edit- Yeah! I did exactly what they said, I shoke the #2 botle for the minute straight like they say. But maybe last night I didn't...

I have another filter smaller than that in my pile of junk my dad gave me. Should I maybe shove it in too? There is room...

[chronic]

I just wanted to say thanks you guys! I made another thread in the freshwater section showing pics of the aquarium as of now since life is coming around!

The nitrates are now closer to 20, nitrites 0. The plecos are more peaceful and friendly coming around and swimming around and eating with eachother, goldfish are more active. Fin rot hasn't gotten any worse and I'm on day 4 with the melafix. So a little longer... and hopefully things will be sound.

thanks again! been a big help!

[sharkbait35]

Don't worry about the hole, my pleco has a similar hole in its dorsal fin, its common around plecos however no one seems to know why, probably from scraping against the decor of your aquarium

[chronic]

Hmm, well since I've been treating the tank with melafix, doing water changes and getting the parameters under control, their fins have been getting better. Infact my big plecos hole is almost healed right up, the other plecos rear fin is healed up, and my goldfish are getting better!
:19:

The big plecos color seems to be more consistant and not as dark now too. He got really really dark for a while.

So, we're getting there. They're all very happy now! Well, at least happier than they seemed before.